Somnambulism
by Kirvin
Summary: A four year old Naruto wakes up and starts causing some trouble. But is that really Naruto? Or something much more troublesome?
1. 1

A loud knock at the door brought the Sandaime away from reading his reports after yet another late night in the office. "Come in," he called, still scanning through the reports.

Two ANBU guards came through dragging a struggling and biting four year old blonde and familiar boy. Sandaime looked up in mild surprise. It was the middle of the night, he should have been in bed a long time ago.

"Sir," one of the ANBU saluted. "We found this little brat causing serious property damage several blocks from his residence. He attacked several people who tried to stop him, though no one was seriously hurt."

Sarutobi sighed as he rose from his desk, finally setting down the reports. "I see. Thank you," he motioned to the other ANBU to set the child down. The boy growled at the guards as they left.

"Now, what's gotten in to you?" Sarutobi asked kindly as he came to stand next to the young blond. The boy glared at him coldly. Sarutobi was taken aback. The boy would usually hang his head sheepishly, or give a cheeky grin or hug him, or pretty much anything other than exactly what he was doing. Something was wrong with this picture.

"Na-"

"I hate you," the boy coldly interrupted. Again, the Sandaime was taken aback. Something was definitely wrong. Sarutobi studied the boy more carefully; there was a great deal of hostility in his blue gaze but also a good deal of confusion as well as grief and sorrow. Sarutobi opened his mouth.

"Why?" but the child beat him to it. The confusion in those blue eyes was overcoming the anger. Sarutobi had a faint notion in the back of his head but hoped he was wrong.

"What do you mean?" he asked carefully.

"You…all of you," the boy looked down casting around for the right words. "But I don't…I can't remember…why."

"What can you remember?" Sarutobi prodded gently.

The boy relaxed a tiny fraction as he recalled what little he could tell, "I woke up in town. Back there," he gestured over his shoulder. Sarutobi nodded, encouraging him to keep going. "There were people there. I didn't like them. Then I went out to the street. I was looking for…" The child tensed up again. "I couldn't find what I was looking for. I couldn't…. I'll never find…It's your fault!" he suddenly screamed, pointing a finger at the Sandaime in accusation. "You did it! It's because of you! Now I'll never…!" the boy started sobbing uncontrollably.

Sarutobi bent down and embraced the boy. He screamed, pushing the Sandaime away throwing accusations and invectives between chocked sobs and tears. Sandaime just held on, rubbing his back and making comforting noises as the boy cried himself out. Slowly the child quieted down and the tears stopped.

"Why are you doing this?" the blue eyed boy asked between sobs. "I don't even know who you are."

That niggling thought was at the back of Sarutobi's mind again, and this time it brought a bullhorn. "You looked like you could use the comfort," he smiled sadly. "How could I not?"

The boy sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve, looking utterly miserable.

"You really don't remember anything before tonight?" Sarutobi asked.

He shook his head. "I can't even remember my name," the boy mumbled. "All I remember is anger. And pain," he sniffed again.

Sarutobi's mind was working furiously. What was he to do? If this was what, or rather who he suspected, this could be a very dangerous situation. On the other hand, he was still just a four year old boy. A four year old boy that had caused serious property damage if the ANBU's report had been accurate, he reminded himself. If he could be convinced to lend his aide, the strength of the Kyuubi would be an amazing asset to Konoha and above all the village had to be protected, Sarutobi thought. A brief stab of remorse for Naruto was easily quashed with the ease of practice of a well accomplished killer.

"Come sit down for awhile," Sarutobi gestured to the couch nearby. "My name is Sarutobi. I am the Sandaime Hokage of the hidden village of Konoha. Does any of this sound familiar to you?" Sarutobi started.

The blond frowned in thought. He shook his head slowly.

"What about the name Naruto?" The boy shook his head again. "Uzumaki Naruto is your name." Sarutobi said firmly.

"Naruto," the boy said slowly, trying out the word. "I am Naruto," he frowned a bit, as though feeling that the name didn't quite fit him.

"Yes. As for what happened to you…," careful, be very careful, came the needless thought from Sarutobi's subconscious. "It's difficult to explain. You said you were looking for something? What was it, do you remember?"

Naruto's face took on a pained expression. "No. It was…something very important but I don't…" he sobbed.

"Shh, it's okay," Sarutobi made placating gestures. "I think I know what it is you were looking for." Naruto looked up at him hopefully. "You were looking for the other half of your soul."

Naruto's expression became one of surprise and confusion, with just the barest hint of recognition. Sarutobi mentally breathed a sigh of relief, the gamble was risky but seemed like it might work out.

"You see, Naruto," the Sandaime started to weave his story for the confused fox spirit. "You have a very powerful spirit, even as a baby. So powerful in fact, that you could rival a real demon's power," the boy nodded slowly. "But you were too powerful, and you were far too young and undisciplined to control all that power. You became a danger to the village," Naruto nodded again.

"Is that why those people were scared of me?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Sarutobi said sadly, praying that 'those people' hadn't gone and said what had been forbidden. "So we had to come up with a solution to protect our homes and family," he included the child in 'our'. "What we did was split your soul and your power into two parts and sealed half of it away. It was our hope that once you grew up and learned how to control it, you could be unsealed and be able to use your full potential. I never suspected that the sealed half could become aware; it was supposed to remain dormant. I know it hurt to be torn apart and locked up. I am so sorry for the pain we caused you, Naruto. Can you ever forgive me?" Sarutobi looked at the demon sealed behind those blue eyes with sincere apology, as he waited with baited breath to see if his story would be accepted. There was just enough truth to be credible without giving anything away. But was it enough?

Naruto stared at the Hokage for a long while, digesting the information. Finally he looked away with a sigh. "I guess we all do what we think is right," he muttered. "What will happen to me now?"

Sarutobi smiled warmly, "Well, since you're out and about now, in a manner of speaking, why don't we train you to be a ninja?"


	2. 2

"A ninja?" Naruto said thoughtfully. "That does sound interesting." 

Sarutobi smiled, "I thought you might like that. Your other half is certainly adamant about becoming one."

Naruto stared at the Sandaime. "My...Sarutobi, can you tell me about myself? What can of person am I? What do I like to do?" his eyes darted away in a sudden thought. "Wait, if I'm here then where is the other one? The other half?"

"That's a good question. I was worried about that myself," Sarutobi said in perfect honesty. "If you don't mind I'd like to check the seal and see if we can find a few answers."

Naruto gave a brief puzzled look before nodding once. The Sandaime leaned over and tugged up the boy's night shirt. The seal was in plain sight in an ugly blood red colour.

"That's it? That's the seal?" Naruto asked in some surprise.

The Hokage glanced at him a moment before continuing his study. "Yes, essentially."

"I thought it would be...I dunno, bigger or something," Naruto mumbled. "So, what do you see?"

"Well, it looks to be in perfect working order as far as I can tell. You are still largely sealed away, and the other you is merely sleeping. Once he wakes up, you will go ba-"

"No!" Naruto gripped the Sandaime's arm in a sudden panicked hold. "I don't want to go back! Please!"

"I'm sorry, Naruto that's how it works. If it's any consolation, when the other you goes to sleep the next night you'll be able to come out again," although the Hokage wished that that were not the case.

Naruto let go, his eyes downcast. "Do you have any idea what it's like?" he asked lowly. "To be in a sightless, soundless prison, then to get free just to be told you have to go back?"

Sarutobi rubbed the boy's back in sympathy. "I can only imagine," he whispered.

"Can't you change the seal? Make it so that I can...so that we can choose...or..." he picked at the frayed edge of the couch on which they sat as he tried to think of a viable option.

The Sandaime shook his head, "No, I'm sorry. A seal can't be changed once it's finished. And unsealing you at this point is still too dangerous, you are still untrained."

"Couldn't you undo it then reseal me?" Naruto asked without much hope.

Sarutobi shook his head again. "To seal you again after becoming whole may very well destroy you entirely. In fact we were lucky that it worked the first time. It was only because you were a new born that it did."

Naruto tossed a few loose couch threads onto the floor. "If that's the case then," he looked up at the Hokage with determination in his eyes. "When can I start training?"

Sarutobi smiled, "As soon as we find an appropriate teacher."

"Could you do it?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"Me?" Sarutobi was surprised. "Why do you ask?"

"You were nice to me. Even when I said I hate you," he said earnestly.

Sarutobi looked at the boy sadly, "I'm afraid not. I have a whole village to run, I don't have the time."

Naruto hung his head, "I understand. Then will you tell me about my life?" he asked shyly, "I just hate not knowing anything at all."

"Of course," Sarutobi said warmly.


	3. 3

Sarutobi and the fox in a boy's body talked for hours, all through the night in the hokage's office. They spoke mostly about Naruto's life and of the village itself. When the first rays of light came in through the window, Naruto gave a great yawn and rubbed his eyes. Sarutobi smiled indulgently. 

"You seem tired. Why don't you have a rest and we'll talk again tomorrow?" he said. Although the Sandaime was also feeling tired, he was more used to the long hours.

"Promise?" the boy asked with another yawn. Sarutobi nodded and the child slumped right over on the couch. The Hokage watched him curiously. It was odd speaking with the fox demon. Not only because of history, but also because the personality of the fox was very strange. At times he spoke as though he had the wisdom of the ages, yet at other times, like asking for a promise to talk again, he seemed very child like. Sarutobi wonered how much the memory loss was affecting the demon.

A bare few minutes passed when Naruto stirred again. The real Naruto this time. He sat up and stretched his arms as though waking from a very deep sleep. He blinked a few times and stared at the Hokage blankly for a few moments.

"Hey grampa. How did I get here?" he asked at last.

Now the Sandaime had a whole new problem. How to explain the situation to a four year old who like to attract attention to himself. Sarutobi cursed the long night, it seemed as though he was more fatigued than he first thought. He could only think of one thing to say.

"Mmm...You were sleepwalking, Naruto. We brought you here so you wouldn't accidently hurt yourself," he explained.

"Sleepwalking?" Naruto said, as if he had never heard the word before. Which he may not have, Sarutobi reflected. Suddenly, Naruto grinned broadly and laughed. Sarutobi was relieved by the sound; this was definately the real Naruto. "That's weird!" the blond boy said.

Sarutobi chuckled. "Alright, Naruto, why don't you run along home now."

Once Naruto had gone with one of the ANBU guards to escort him, Sarutobi asked the other guard to fetch Tadaka Yoshiaki. Tadaka was a former ANBU guard, a very strong and talented man, and one who had very strong convictions about loyalty, which is exactly what Sarutobi was looking for. When Tadaka arrived some twenty minutes later, Sarutobi motioned him inside. The man had obviously just woken but nevertheless he was alert if not greatly puzzled by the early summons. Sarutobi shuffled away a few more reports on his desk before looking at the man intently. Tadaka looked back, waiting at attention.

"How do you feel about Uzumaki Naruto?" the Hokage started off.

Tadaka appeared even more puzzled by this as he gave the question some thought. "Honestly? It scares me that the demon is still alive, it whatever form. I don't want history to repeat itself."

"Understandable. What about the boy himself? How do you feel about him?"

"We've never met," he said diplomatically.

Sarutobi chuckled. "Yes, well, sorry about the lack of warning but I'm reassigning you. You're to be an instructor starting tomorrow night."

Tadaka started in surprise. "For the Uzumaki boy?" he asked. No one could accuse him of being slow.

"In a manner of speaking," Sarutobi muttered. "Now, what I am about to tell you does not leave this room, understand?"

"Yessir!" Tadaka stood listening attentively. Sarutobi knew he could count on Tadaka to be discreet.

"Something happened late last night," Sarutbi started rubbing his temple. "It seems that when Naruto goes to sleep, it is possible for Kyuubi's personality to surface." Tadaka's eyes widened in alarm. "Yet the fox had no memory of a time before yesterday. And obviously the town is still intact. I somehow managed to convince him that he was actually a part of Naruto, a sort of split personality. And he wants to be a ninja. The fox could potentially be a great asset to this village," Sarutobi gave Tadaka a significant look.

"Which is where I come in," Tadaka concluded. Sarutobi nodded. "But, I've never been an instructor before, sir."

"You'll do fine," the Hokage reassure him. "Just start with the basics and work your way up. The village is at your disposal. Use whatever you feel is necessary."

Tadaka grimaced. "Yes, sir."

"And Tadaka, be sure to address him as Naruto. He must believe that he is Uzumaki Naruto. Dismissed."

Tadaka saluted smartly and left.


	4. 4

Tadaka walked down the street greeting a few familiar faces that were out and about in the early morning. He was wondering why it was that his life had suddenly taken a turn for the bizarre. True he had been asking for a change of venue, guard duty on the north wall was getting old. But teaching had not been on his list of desired assignments, nor would he have ever thought of Uzumaki Naruto if it had. Such was life, Tadaka sighed running a hand through his shaggy black hair. 

Tadaka turned his mind to the boy and what he knew of him. It was surprisingly little. He was blond, blue-eyed, four years old, had the fox demon sealed within him, and was apparently very energetic. Other than that, all Tadaka had were rumors and hearsay. He figured now would be a good time to do a little recon, before the 'mission' started.

The orphanage was only a few blocks away, Tadaka headed toward it. It was a fairly large building, and it had been expanded again four years ago. Uzumaki would be staying there until he was accepted at the academy or started civilian elementary school. At that point he would be assigned a room near his school and provided with an allowance until he graduated and started earning his own money.

The front yard of the orphanage came into view, Tadaka easily spotted Uzumaki's bright blond hair as the boy ran about the yard. There were a few other children out, as well as a caretaker on staff keeping an eye on everyone. Tadaka took up a spot across the street where he could see the whole yard. It looked so normal. A half-dozen kids running around, screaming at random intervals, the caretaker smiled indulgently as a little girl showed him a plucked wildflower. One would never suspect there was a caged demon among them.

In the corner of the yard, two boys were conspiring together whispering and snickering. Tadaka would have thought nothing of it except that they kept glancing at Uzumaki. Whatever the two boys had in mind was no good for the blond. Tadaka was curious how Uzumaki would react.

The taller, presumably older of the two boys checked if the caretaker was watching. He wasn't. The boy quickly picked up a rock and chucked it at Uzumaki. It missed, but only just. The blond turned to his attacker with wide fearful eyes and backpedaled quickly. The two boys grabbed more rocks off the ground and followed. Uzumaki turned and ran, the pair of troublemakers right on his heels. The blond dodged through the playground equipment, trying valiantly not to get hit with the barrage of stones. As he wound around the slide, one rock clanged loudly off of the slide. The sound finally caught the caretaker's attention. Tadaka figured that would be the end of it, but he was wrong. The caretaker stood and watched as the two miscreants pelted the boy with rocks.

Tadaka frowned. He seriously wondered if that man was qualified to look after small children. Tadaka was considering interfering on Uzumaki's behalf when the blond ran behind a small cluster of girls. The two pests didn't stop with their rocks though. The girls squealed as the stones came down on them. That's when the caretaker stepped in and stopped the whole mess. He told off the two boys, but only feebly as far as Tadaka could tell, and checked the girls for injuries. Uzumaki stood off to one side, checking a few cuts himself and brushing himself off. The caretaker didn't as much as glance at him.

The children dispersed and the whole scene went back to normal. Like nothing had ever happened. Tadaka watched a few minutes but nothing remarkable happened again. He turned and walked away, heading for the north wall. He had to tell his CO about the change in assignment.

One good thing about that, Tadaka thought as he frowned, I have a starting point for teaching that kid. He needs to learn to detect and dodge attacks.


	5. 5

Tadaka covered his mouth with one hand, yawning as he approached the orphanage. Switching to the graveyard shift was annoying, he thought, but it was necessary. Up by the front gate, Naruto was waiting with his backpack, fidgeting impatiently.

"Oy, Naruto!" Tadaka called out.

Immediately, Naruto's head whipped around and a bright grin lit up his face. "Tadaka-sensei!" He ran over and locked onto Tadaka's leg.

"Ready to go, kid?" Tadaka asked as he ruffled the boy's hair.

"Yep!"

"So, what happened today?" Tadaka asked as the pair made their way to the training grounds. Naruto launched into a lengthy and energetic spiel about the events of his day. Tadaka listened with only half an ear but the blonde needed very little encouragement. Naruto was happy with even half-hearted attention.

When they arrived at the training grounds, Tadaka had Naruto do a quick warm, then a series of training exercises followed by a lesson on basic chakra control while the boy cooled down. After all that Naruto was starting to wear out and it was getting close to dinnertime.

"Alright, that's enough for tonight. Go get cleaned up then we can have dinner. I'll treat you to Ramen, sound good?"

"What's Ramen?" Naruto asked curiously.

"It's noodles in soup. There are lots of flavours; I think you'll like it. Hurry up," Tadaka waved the boy toward the washrooms. It wasn't long before he came back fresh and clean and ready to go. The pair went to a little noodle shop not far from where they had done the training. Naruto really liked the Ramen.

Afterwards, they went to the park for a time. They talked through the evening; well, Naruto did most of the talking, Tadaka just listened. As the night wore on and Naruto started to yawn, Tadaka sat the boy on a bench.

"Have you been practicing meditation, Naruto?" the man asked.

"I try to. But it's hard to fall asleep just when I want to. 'Specially when it's really noisy there."

"That's alright. Keep at it; you'll get the hang of it eventually. It's getting late now, go to sleep." Tadaka sat down beside Naruto. Naruto leaned on him and gradually fell asleep. And then he woke up again.

"Hey, boss man," he said with a crooked little smirk.

"Good evening, Uzumaki," Tadaka return in the same tone. When they met a week ago, Tadaka had decided to call each 'personality' by a different name to keep things clearer in his mind. But in retrospect it was meaningless. Naruto and the fox were just too different fundamentally. Naruto was bright, cheerful, and loved to be the centre of attention. The fox was sarcastic, disrespectful and had an extremely short fuse. But he was also clever and had a sense of humour. The only thing they had in common, as far as Tadaka could tell, was an innate curiosity about the world around them. Still, it was near impossible to mistake one for the other.

"Ready to go?" Tadaka inquired.

"I'm always ready!" the boy said as he hopped of the bench.


	6. 6

"I'm always ready!" the boy said as he jumped off the bench. Then he grunted and rubbed his shoulder dramatically. "Jeez, he's still not dodging fast enough. I'm covered in bruises!" 

Tadaka snorted a laugh as he stood. "Sure you are, kid. I'm sure you're just aching from that one hit I managed to score on the right shoulder."

"Absolutely. It's killing me!" Uzumaki had the tone of one who was unfairly put upon. Tadaka merely laughed. Teacher and student made their way back toward the training grounds, stopping only to pick up a late night snack on the way.

Tadaka led his young apprentice to a yard where five plastic targets were mounted on bales of hay at one end. He directed the blond to stand at the far end, about fifty meters in front of the targets, as he went to the nearby storage shed and fetched a rather large set of practice kunai.

"Let's try a little target practice tonight," Tadaka said as he pulled out one kunai and dropped the rest on the ground. "Now, here's how you-"

"This is easy. I can easily hit a target that close, there's no way I can miss," the blond boy bragged.

"Oh, that's good," Tadaka said blandly, "Show me," he held out the kunai in one hand.

Uzumaki snatched it up and chucked it at the first target board. The blade tumbled end over end and stopped forty meters away, still a good ten meters from the base of the target. The blond stared at the blade on the ground in what could only be called disbelief. His face slowly started to redden.

Uzumaki grabbed another kunai off the ground and threw it in a wild over hand throw. It sailed right over the target board and ended up atop the bales of hay on which the target was mounted.

"I think your throw needs a little work," Tadaka said in the same bland tone. "Like this," he picked up a kunai and demonstrated a proper hold and throwing technique. Uzumaki grumbled but he did pay careful attention. His next attempt stuck in the front of the target, but not on the target itself. The next few hours was spent in front of the targets, progressively getting closer but apparently not fast enough to suit the fox's impatient personality.

"Damn it!" Uzumaki cursed at the targets. He had run out of kunai again. Stamping his feet in a fit of rage, he cast his hands out towards the targets, throwing out a huge burst of chakra and setting the target boards on fire, as a well as the bales of hay they were mounted on. "Ha! That got 'em!" the boy crossed his arms over his chest and took on a superior smirk.

Tadaka wanted to curse. The chakra burst nearly scared him out of his wits. He grunted and very deliberately put away his own kunai which he had pulled on instinct. "Uzumaki," he started slowly, trying to calm his racing heart, "You missed again."

The boy spun on him with an angry scowl. "What are you talking about? How can you possibly call that a miss!" he gestured to the smoldering grass mounds and melted targets with an expansive wave.

"You missed the entire point of this exercise," Tadaka went on evenly, trying to maintain a calm facade. "We are here to improve your accuracy, not your power. You already have power in spades; everyone knows that, otherwise we wouldn't even be here now. You need to be able to hit smaller targets."

"What for?" the boy became sullen and defensive. "If I can just blow the whole thing up, what's the point of being able to hit something smaller," he looked down with a pout.

"Because, sometimes simply blowing things up will compromise your mission. Some missions will involve the retrieval of items, or scrolls, or specific information. If an enemy is holding the item or scroll you're after, then eliminating them entirely in this fashion," he gestured at the smoking heaps, "will cause your mission to fail." While gesturing to the burning grasses, Tadaka was also signaling to the ANBU, who had gathered on the trees around the training grounds as he spoke to his student, that the chakra burst that they all had felt was not really a threat. And he prayed that he was right about that.

Uzumaki grumbled a bit, shuffling the ground with a toe. "I guess you have a point."

"And what if your enemy is holding a hostage? Would you kill the hostage too?"

"No, of course not," he shook his head emphatically. "I'm not some kind of monster!" Tadaka nearly laughed at the sheer irony of that statement, but he managed not to react outwardly. "I got the message. I'll work on my accuracy. Where are some more targets?"

"Ah-ah!" Tadaka waggled a finger at him, "Not until you find a fire extinguisher, put that out and clean up your mess."

"What! Aw, c'mon! That'll take forever!" Uzumaki whined.

"You made this mess, you clean it up."

Uzumaki went on complaining, but he did, eventually, comply.


	7. 7

It was barely past dawn when the Sandaime found himself atop his office gazing upon the Hokage monument. The sight of it always made him nostalgic. A movement off to the side brought his attention away from the past. Tadaka landed on the roof and saluted.

"Ah, Tadaka," Sarutobi greeted the man with a warm smile. "How is our mischievous little sprite doing these days?"

Tadaka returned the smile. "As I've said often enough before, he picks things up incredibly quickly. They both do," Tadaka rubbed at one dark brown eye as he considered his next words carefully. "Actually, at this point I think they would be able to pass the academy exams."

The Hokage looked over at him with some surprise. "Both of them? Already? And you've only been teaching them for, what...?"

"A little over a year now," Tadaka finished for him. "But I think they're ready."

The Hokage chewed on his pipe in thought. "In that case, I'll have one of the academy instructors test him and make it official. I think I'd like to see that myself. And he'll need a team. Come back tomorrow and I'll have something ready."

"Yes sir," Tadaka left for a good days sleep.

OoOoO

"Tadaka sensei!" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs as soon as his teacher came in sight. He ran over and glomped onto the man's waist as he usually did. "Guess what! Guess what!"

"You cleaned your room without being asked?" Tadaka asked with mock hope, and a smile.

"No, no! Look!" he pointed excitedly at the shiny new hitae ate he had on his forehead.

"Oh, I see," Tadaka ruffled the boy's hair as his smile widened. "You washed your hair!"

"Sensei!" Naruto whined.

Tadaka laughed. "I'm just teasing. Congratulations, Naruto-kun. But you know things will only get more difficult now. You're a Genin now, you'll be going on real missions with a team, and you'll be assigned a new Jounin instructor. Take care of yourself out there and always do your best."

"You mean you won't be my teacher any more?" Naruto asked sadly.

"I don't think so." Tadaka smiled sadly as he led the boy down the street. "But we can still be friends, right?"

"Right!" and Naruto was all smiles again.

"So how did your partner do?"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "He said it was way too easy, look," Naruto pulled out a little notebook from his pocket and flipped it open. He point to a line off the last page and read it aloud. "He said, 'it was so simple, I could have passed months ago.' And then he says stuff about how he's so excited about going on missions. And I am too!" Naruto went on talking as he put his little notebook away. The book had been a birthday present from Tadaka on the boy's fifth birthday. Tadaka suggested that the two who shared the boy's body could use the book to communicate with one another since neither could remember what happened while the other was in control. Uzumaki said it was like having a pen pal without the postage.

"Can we have Ramen for dinner?" Naruto pleaded.

"What, again? You always want Ramen," Tadaka complained.

They did end up going for Ramen that night. Tadaka wondered the whole night what the future might have in Store for the little blonde and his 'partner.'


	8. 8

A cool breeze blew over a small man made lake, ruffling the surface into small wavelets. A short dock stuck out into the lake at the end of which two boys sat in silence, dangling their feet into the water. One boy was in his early teens, the other under ten. The two looked remarkably alike, black hair, pale skin, and dark eyes.

"They gave me another team," the younger boy said softly, breaking the silence. The older made no response, staring out across the lake. "Why did it take so long? It's been months."

A few more moments passed in silence. "They were trying to be considerate since you're so young," the older boy said at last. The smaller boy huffed and the elder laughed at his expense. "Or there was just no one available. But now it's graduation time again." The younger grumbled under his breath.

The pair lapsed into silence once again. The wind died down and the lake's surface took on a glassy stillness. The younger boy kicked at the water stirring it up again. "The new jounin is a medic," he said absently. "I guess they are hoping she'll be able to keep the team alive this time." His companion hummed in response. "We meet in an hour."

"Better not keep them waiting. You don't want to make a bad impression," the elder boy said. It was difficult to tell by his tone whether he was mocking or serious.

"Like I care what they think of me," the young boy said derisively. "They're just gonna die anyway."

The senior boy frowned across the small lake, "Maybe you could help them with that little problem." Beside him, the younger boy hunched his shoulders and scowled. "And you still have to uphold the honour of the clan." Finally, the young boy hung his head and sighed in defeat.

"Fine. I'm going," he stood from the dock and turned to leave. "See you, Shisui," he waved on the way.

"Be good, Itachi-kun"

oOoOoOo

_The day before:_

A knock and subsequent answer brought a young woman into the workplace of the highest office in Konohagakure. She saluted and awaited orders. They were not long in coming.

"This year we had an extra student," the Hokage said, holding out a thin brown folder. "He would've gone into a four man team but instead I've decided to make a thirteenth team. I'm assigning this Genin team to you,"

Rin's eyebrows rose as she took the folder, flipping it open to the first page.

The first boy was a recent graduate, good grades, his father was a medic, like herself. The boy had thick grey hair and glasses, eleven years old, but there was nothing truly remarkable about Yakushi Kabuto.

She turned the page.

"Woah, him?" Rin smiled in something close to excitement. The second boy, even though he was a couple years younger than the first had graduated earlier, two years ago in fact. He had already had a team but when they had gone on what should have been an easy C rank mission in Stone country, only this boy and the Jounin in charge made it back. They had ended up sending three full squads to deal with the problem after their return.

This boy had been on leave the last few months since the incident in order to 'recuperate.' Longer then most got, but he was only nine. Nevertheless, Uchiha Itachi was rumoured to be a genius and the pride of his clan.

Rin turned the next page. Her smile vanished.

"You're not serious?" she looked sharply at the Hokage. The Hokage said nothing and fixed her with a look that clearly said that he was in fact serious.

"But, I mean… he… he's not even old enough to GO to the academy. When did he even graduate? Is this a good idea?"

The Hokage held up a hand. "Read the file. It'll be fine. Just remember to be discrete. I shouldn't have to even tell you that," the Hokage gave her a hard glare. "Can you handle this assignment?"

Rin closed the folder and stood at attention. She looked the Hokage in the eye with all seriousness, "Yes sir," she said solemnly.

The Hokage studied her seriously. "Good," he nodded. "Dismissed."


	9. 9

Yakushi Kabuto removed his glasses, wipped them off on the hem of his shirt and replaced them on his nose. He looked at the park bench again. The scene hadn't changed. At one end, a young woman sat with her arms crosed and head down. She was the Jounin instructor, Kabuto surmised, and that was fine. At the other end, sitting on the backrest of the bench with his feet on the seat, was Uchiha Itachi. Although they had never met before, Itachi was developing quite a reputation already and Kabuto was both surprised and pleased to know they would be on the same team. That was alright too. What made Kabuto pause to clean his glasses was the little blond kid sitting between them, grinning like the cheshire cat. He couldn't be more than six years old.

Kabuto walked over slowly.

"Um, hello? Is this where team 13 is meeting?"

A little beep came from the jounin's watch, marking the hour.

"You're just in time, Kabuto-kun," she said with her eyes still closed. "I almost thought you wouldn't make it," she smiled and stood up, waving him over to the seat she had just vacated. Kabuto sat down, bemused as the woman rounded in front of them and rubbed her hands together. "Alright, let's get started, team! Let's do a simple introduction first, tell us a bit about yourself, what you like or don't like, where you hope to be in the future, or what you do in your spare time. You start, Kabuto-kun," she smiled at him.

"Um," kabuto raised his hand. " I have a question first, if you don't mind? Why is this little kid here?"

The kid in question turned a glare on Kabuto. "Who you callin' little!?"

"He's a part of this team," Rin said easily. "Now, introductions!"

"Shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" Itachi said flatly, his chin resting in his hand. "It's only fair."

"Oh? Well I suppose so," she cleared her throat. "My name is Rin. I like lots of things, like flowers and watching the sunset, I don't like a few things, mostly rude people. My plans for the future, well... nevermind. I do like reading up on the latest medical techniques, when I get the chance. Your turn," she smiled at Kabuto again.

"Oh, um," Kabuto took his glasses off to wipe them down again. "My name is Yakushi Kabuto. I like puzzles and figuering out how things work or how it's put together. I don't like unsolved mysteries," he glanced out of the corner of his eyes at the kid beside him. The blond grinned back. "In my spare time I like to read or maybe do a little extra training. I hope to be a medic ninja and work in the hospital. To help people," Kabuto nodded and replaced his glasses.

"Alright, thank you Kabuto-kun. You're next Itachi-kun,"

Itachi turn to her slowly and glared. "I'm Uchiha Itachi. I like training, I don't like stupid or weak people. What I do in my off time is none of your business, and I don't really have any plans for the future," and with that he turned away to glare into the middle distance.

"Er, thank you Itachi. Your turn, Naruto-kun,"

"Yosh!" Naruto jumped up on the seat, knocking into Itachi in the process. Itachi turned to glare at him. "My name is Naruto! I like ramen and my teacher Tadaka. I hate being ignored or being hungry. Um," he put a finger to his chin, "I don't think I've ever really had spare time, I'm always busy doing something. Someday I'm gonna be the best ninja ever! And everyone will look at me and say 'he's the greatest!' " Naruto crossed his arms and sat down with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Ok, thank you Naruto. Now the last member of the team, if you please," Rin smiled, Naruto nodded and bowed his head.

"What?" Kabuto looked around for an extra person but there was no one else in the area. Itachi even looked at her questioningly.

As Uzumaki looked up curiously Rin cleared her throat. "Kabuto, Itachi," she nodded toward each in turn while she kept her eyes on the blonde. "As members of thi team you should know that Uzumaki Naruto has a unique...ability. He has two different personalities, one of which is always awake at different times. So this is Uzumaki."

Uzumaki grinned at her. "Hey honey," He seemed to be trying not to ogle her. Rin sweat dropped in her mind, that was not a look that belonged on the face of someone so young. She crossed her arms.

"Great, would you give us a brief introduction, what you like, don't like, hobbies, future plans et cetera," Rin smiled.

"Ok, hmm," Uzumaki put a finger to his chin, "I like fighting and eating and..." his eyes flicked to Rin briefly, "and other things. I don't like being held back or liars or really small spaces. My favorite hobby is starting fires," he grinned

"That's not a hobby," Kabuto muttered.

Uzumaki laughed and shrugged.

"What about future goals?" Rin asked again.

"All I want is to be able to do what I want, when I want," he said evenly.

Rin clapped her hands together suddenly, "Alright, then. Now we're going to get to know a little about your abilities. Get to training area 7 quick as you can," and she promptly vanished.

Uzumaki immidiately jumped up and raced off across the rooftops. Itachi snorted and stood more slowly, but was soon off on the blond's heels. Kabuto sighed and followed as best he could.


	10. 10

Just within the city limits were the training grounds. The area Rin designated was mostly open field with some boulders and rocky areas. Rin arrived at area 7 shortly, having left the children behind. She was grateful for the moment to think alone. Naruto and Uzumaki were foremost on her mind. Rin was still weirded out by that look Uzumaki had given her. Sure, she had seen such looks on occasion before, usually on undercover missions where she had to pose as a regular woman, but to see it on a five year old? Freaky. He would need to be monitored, of course. Naruto on the other hand was very straight forward. Having been neglected at the orphanage all he wanted was attention. Rin hadn't missed when Naruto bumped into Itachi when the other boy seemed to be ignoring him. The move had been quite deliberate. In the report, Tadaka said he had taught Naruto to gain the attention he sought by being the best ninja he could be. Obviously Naruto didn't think that was the only way to go about things. It was kind of cute.

Switching gears now, Rin remembered that one personality could not recall events that happened to the other. It was an odd situation and she considered how it would affect their missions. She came up with a few obvious things, both good and bad.

There were other factors to consider. The other boys deserved as much consideration. Itachi had just now arrived at the training area, Uzumaki appeared hot on his heels. It looked like they had been racing each other. They were both out of breath, the blond fell to the ground panting. Rin watched Itachi. He already had experience in the field. It was possible he would resent being teamed up with two boys that had none. So far, the dark haired boy wasn't being very personable. Rin made a mental note to have a talk with him. If he would just open up a little, his experience could be a great asset for the whole team.

Several minutes of waiting later, Kabuto finally made it to the training area. He bent over with his hands on his knees, out of breath. How ironic that the oldest of the team should be the furthest behind. Rin knew that would have to be addressed as soon as possible. But he had to be willing to put in the work first.

"Now that we're all here, I'm going to have you do a little sparring. Itachi, Uzumaki, since you've had a couple minutes, lets have you two go first. Hand to hand only." Itachi nodded, Uzumaki smirked, and they both moved away to face off. "Begin," Rin said when they were ready. Uzumaki launched himself at his opponent and they started the fight.

"Kabuto," Rin said softly as the other two boys went on. "You said you like puzzles, right?"

Kabuto turned to her curiously. "Yes?"

"Then can you puzzle out why this particular team was put together?" Rin wondered what he would come up with.

"Well," Kabuto's brow wrinkled in thought. "Itachi is said to be a genius but I heard about his last team. He should be on a team where the other members can keep up with him. For someone as young as Uzumaki to be put on a team he must be some kind of genius. How old is he, anyway?"

"Five."

Kabuto whistled lowly. They watched the other boys sparring for a moment in silence. Uzumaki had good speed but Itachi had the experience and a greater reach. Itachi had knocked Uzumaki down a couple of times which frustrated Uzumaki to no end. It appeared that Itachi had the upper hand. And Itachi hadn't used the Sharingan eye yet. But the few blows the blond did manage to score were powerful, a little more then was really necessary for just a spar, and were taking a toll on Itachi.

"And what about yourself, Kabuto?"

Kabuto frowned. "I'm no genius, I admit. I dont'-" Kabuto paused and turned to Rin as a thought struck him. "You said earlier that you study medicine?"

"That's right," Rin nodded.

"The teachers at the academy knew I had an interest in medicine. I think it stands to reason that I'm here to be a medic nin," he smiled.

Rin returned the smile and nodded again. "Very good. How do you feel about that?"

Kabuto straighted up and smiled "I'm looking forward to it."

"Are you sure about that?" Rin glared. Kabuto's smile faltered. "Not only is there all the studying but you have to be he best fighter on the team. I'm expecting a lot from you Kabuto. I'll push you to your limit and more. Are you prepared for that?"

Kabuto hesitated looking back to the sparring match in front of them. Uzumaki no longer seemed frustrated. Even though Itachi kept knocking him back the blond just kept getting back up. Itachi was now trying to conserve energy but Uzumaki kept hounding him. If this match went on long enough the younger boy would just out last the older.

Kabuto looked down for a moment then turned to Rin with a serious expression. "Whoever put me on this team must have thought I could do it. I swear I'll always do my best."

Rin stared at the boy with a blank face, waiting to see if he would change his mind. He didn't even flinch. She nodded. "I'll hold you to that."

They turned to the sparring match to see Uzumaki get smacked down yet again. "Hold," Rin called out to them. Both boys turned to her breathing hard. Uzumaki was very dirty. "Itachi, let's see a demonstration of the Sharingan, if you please?"

Itachi nodded. "Yes, sensei." He squared off again as his eyes turned a shade of red. Uzumaki eyed him curiously and get in a defensive position.

"Begin."

The two boys returned to battling. This time Itachi clearly had the upper hand. Every move Uzumaki made, Itachi had a counter ready. This of course annoyed Uzumaki. It wasn't long before Rin could feel his chakra level rising. "Hold!" she stopped them before something unfortunate happened. "Uzumaki," Rin pointed down the field where a large boulder rested. "If you please."

He looked then smirked. His chakra built up greatly, he waved a hand toward the boulder. The chakra was strong enough to be solid and it streaked across to the stone digging trenches in the ground. A cloud of smoke rose up from where the stone had been. Once it cleared they could see the boulder had been largely reduced to rubble. Itachi and Kabuto starred in disbelief. As for Uzumaki, he flopped on the ground, exhausted.

Rin walked over to where the little blond had fallen, gesturing the others to join her. "Good job. Now before we go on to the next match, lets have a little talk."


End file.
